David Tennant Talks About How Returning to ‘Doctor Who’ Might’ve Felt a Little ‘Awkward’

He’s back! Doctor Who brought David Tennant back during Jodie Whittaker’s regeneration and we know we’re getting more of him in the upcoming era of the series. The return of Tennant is one that fans have been waiting years to see, and any time a new Doctor appeared, they’d bring him up. As someone who loves him fine, I am still Team Matt Smith, but that’s not to say I am not incredibly excited because Tennant is my second favorite Doctor.

But it clearly wasn’t the easiest decision for Tennant. On the show This Morning, Tennant opened up a bit about what it felt like returning to the role after all this time, which can’t be an easy thing to just decide to do—not when it has been over a decade since it’s been his show and almost ten years since he last played the Doctor for the 50th anniversary special.

“It was like being handed a very lovely present,” Tennant said. “It was joyous, it was great fun. It was a very happy, joyous time 15 years ago, and returning to that could’ve been, well, who knows? It might’ve felt awkward, it might’ve felt difficult, I might not have been able to run as fast. But we had a lovely time. Russell T. Davies is back running the show, it felt like we had never been away.”

The joy of Tennant’s return

Tennant was a fun take on the Time Lord. He was willing to put himself out there and be goofy and powerful, all while being someone many fans fell in love with. His Doctor had more of a love story than others, and learning of the Doctor’s love and loss helped us connect. It’s why we still love Rose Tyler and feel for Martha Jones and Donna Noble.

His Doctor set up the anger and the childishness of Smith’s take on the Time Lord so beautifully, and it was the time during the series that brought it fame and notoriety in the United States in a way it hadn’t seen before.

All this to say that it is exciting to have Tennant back. He said it might’ve been awkward and he couldn’t run as fast, but that’s not to say that this time wasn’t beneficial to him. He said it felt like a gift, and really, it’s a gift to us all, and I can’t wait to see what this new era of Doctor Who under Russell T. Davies has in store.

(featured image: BBC)